Changes in radiological protection and quality control in Spanish dentalinstallations: 1996-2003

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The European Union has established specific directives concerning radiological protection which areobligatory for member States. In addition, all Spanish dental clinics with radiological equipment are required tohave an annual quality control check. Objective: To analyze the effect of new European legislation on dental radiologicalpractice in Spain and to determine whether it has resulted in lower doses being administered to patients.Material and Methods: A total of 10,171 official radiological quality control reports on Spanish dental clinics, covering16 autonomous regions, were studied following the passing of Royal Decree 2071/1995 on quality criteriain radiodiagnostic installations. The reports, compiled by U.T.P.R Asigma S.A., a company authorised by the NuclearSafety Council, cover the years 1996 to 2003, which has enabled us to monitor the evolution of radiologicalprocedures in dental clinics over a seven year period. Results: According to the reports for 2003, 77.3 % of clinicscomplied with EU requirements, using equipment of 70 kVp, 8 mA, 1.5 mm Al filters, with a collimator lengthof 20 cm. However, non-compliance was detected in approximately a third (30.8%) of the equipment inspectedalterations in the kilovoltage used, exposure time, performance of the tubing, dosage, linearity/intensity of currentand acoustic-luminous signal 6.86%. The mean skin dose reached 3.11 mGy for patients who received an x-ray ofan upper molar, representing a decrease of 18% over the seven years studied. Conclusion: there has obviously beena general improvement in the parameters studied, but only 77.3% of the installations complied fully with officialEU regulations concerning dental radiological protection (AU)